Irrationality
by The Goddess of Percabeth
Summary: [WEST SIDE STORY AU] "'I'll see you around,' He suggests from behind her. Artemis turns around quick enough to grin and wink. 'Maybe,' She says." Wally and Artemis aren't supposed to be friends, let alone dating. But yet they are, despite the extreme rivalry between their school's track team. And nothing's going to stop them. Spitfire and other Canon Couples.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or West Side Story. They belong to the appropriate parties.**

"Remind me why I let you drag me here," Artemis Crock grumbles as she follows her best friend, Zatanna into the bright blue tacky bleachers of the Happy Harbor High Track Arena.

"I couldn't miss it," The raven-haired girl states matter-of-factly. "It's Dick's first game, and he wants us to be here. I mean, it's not like his dad has time to come here himself," It's true; his guardian, whom the girls are always forgetting is not his dad, Bruce Wayne, is always too busy to attend a measly high school track meet. "See, there he is now." She points to a spot just beyond the bleachers, where the blonde can see a skinny kid in shorts stretching with his teammates. Zatanna waves her hands around wildly to get his attention. He waves back politely.

"Hey, guys," A redhead with jeans and a Gotham Academy sweatshirt (it's October and getting pretty cold in Connecticut) slides into the seat next to Artemis, her hands full of snacks. "I got the food," She announces.

"Good to see you too, Barbara," Artemis greets her friend while Zatanna reaches over her to grab some popcorn.

"We've known each other, what, a year? I've told you, call me Babs. Barbara is my eighty year old Grandmother," She insists.

"It doesn't feel right," She admits. "Besides, Babs is Dick's name for you."

It'll happen someday, I guess," She sighs. "Oh, well. So where is Dickie?"

"Down there," Zatanna replies, "stretching with the other track dumb-asses."

"Zatanna," Artemis warns, elbowing her friend gently.

"What?" Zatanna asks. "We all know it's true. The only reason Dick made it is because the coach won't have to pick a completely new team if they all fail. Now sh, the meet is starting." She's right, for as soon as she stops speaking, they hear a gunshot and the starting runners are off. Dick isn't currently competing, but a sophomore named Cameron is and sticks his leg out slightly in front of the leading Happy Harbor runner, a redhead with the word "West" on the back of his jersey. He trips, and Cameron wins. The crowd from Gotham Academy goes wild. However, Artemis is skeptical.

"Did you guys see that?" She inquired. "Cameron totally just tripped that guy in the front."

"Who cares?" Zatanna says. "We won!" Barbara and her cheer wildly but the blonde just frowns. She sees the runner who was knocked over howling in pain. If she had to guess, she'd say he had a twisted ankle. She grimaces. Twisted ankles don't feel too good, she knows from experience. She tries to lose herself in the races, long jumps, and hurdles because it's the easiest thing to do (after all, losing oneself in a game is better than facing reality) and soon, she does.

Eventually, the extra-large drinks Barbara brought get to her and she excuses herself to go the restroom. When she finishes her business and is walking back to the stands, she sees the redhead who got hurt by Cameron. He's sitting against a pole, holding a bag of ice to his ankle.

"Ouch," She observes.

"Pretty much," He says.

"I'm sorry he did that to you. Cameron's just a jerk," She tells him.

"That seems like the case," He agrees. "Aren't you going to get in trouble with your friends for talking to someone from Happy Harbor?"

"Maybe," She shrugs. "But I don't really care what my friends think."

"Well, in the case, have a seat," He takes a break from icing his foot to pat the glazed concrete beside him. "It's totally boring here, anyway." He sticks out a hand. "I'm Wally."

She shakes it. "Artemis." She sits down next to him, figuring the only other option is to watch teenage boys in tight shorts run around in circles. "So, how long have you been in Track and Field?"

"Since I was a freshman. So, this is my third year on varsity,"

"You've been on the varsity team for _three years_?" Artemis is impressed. She's only been on the soccer team for two years, and she's one of the best (and youngest) players.

"Yep, been the star runner ever since," He shrugs. "Not that I'm bragging or anything. I was trained by the best."

"And the best would be…" She prompts.

"Barry Allen, my uncle. Heard of him?"

Artemis looks at him, his identity finally dawning on her. "Your uncle is _Barry Allen?_As in the three time Olympic champion?" Didn't Barbara say something about that? "Must be in the genes." She figures.

"Nah. Uncle Barry is my uncle by marriage. No blood relation. So," he says. "You do any sports?"

Artemis shrugs. "I play soccer for the school, but on my own, it's all about the archery. My dad taught me before, he, um, left," She finishes lamely.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's better now that he's gone," She gulps and tries to change the subject. "So, you have any siblings?"

"Nope. You?"

"One sister. Older." Artemis answers, avoiding going too deep in the subject. Despite the fact that her sister left over five years ago, Jade is still a sore subject for her.

"Oh. Cool." A comfortable silence falls between the two. "So, what does your mom do? She must have a pretty good job if you go to Gotham Academy,"

"Actually, I go there on scholarship," Artemis answers, raising an eyebrow. "I had a friend who convinced his guardian to give me a free ride,"

"Pretty good friend you got there," He observes. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Oh God, no," She fake shudders. "Dick is three years younger and a scrawny little thing."

"Dick Grayson?" He asks.

Artemis nods. "How do you know him?"

He shrugs. "We attended Middle School Together. We were pretty good friends when he was in sixth and I was in seventh. But now that he's at Gotham and I'm at Happy Harbor…"

"The rivalry," They finish in unison.

"Yeah, it sucks," He says." If my friends were to find out that I was hanging out with someone from _Gotham_… well, it would be a miracle if I came home without a black eye."

"True, true," She agrees, glancing down at her watch. "Whoa. I've been gone for a long time. My friends are probably freaking out about where I am." She stands up and dusts herself off. "Goodbye, Wally." She starts down the hallway.

"I'll see you around," He suggests from behind her.

Artemis turns around quick enough to grin and wink. "Maybe," She says.

"Where were you?" Barbara demands as soon as the blonde gets back to her seat. "We were worried sick! We almost called the police to tell them you had been kidnapped!'

"You were not," Artemis says calmly. "You wouldn't risk letting your dad know that you were in Happy Harbor."

"Well, maybe not," She says hesitantly. "But still. Where _were_you?"

"My mom called," She lies. "She wanted to know where I was, when I was coming home, et cetera, et cetera. You know the drill."

"Your mom is just _okay_ with the fact that you're at a random high school a state over?" Zatanna, taking a break from cheering on a racing Dick, asks.

"Well, _yeah._ It's only a few minutes from the Connecticut- Rhode Island border," Artemis defends. "Besides, my mom is an ex-con. As long as I'm not smoking pot behind an abandoned warehouse or breaking and entering, she's fine."

"Oh ye— is that _Dick_, in the front?" Zatanna asks. "Holy crap, it is!"

The three friends realize she is right- Dick is leading the race, several feet ahead of Cameron.

"He's still circus boy," Babs says. "Must've built up strong legs from running from all of those lions."

At some point after the long-distance set, Zatanna consumes some unknown amount of beer and gets blackout drunk.

"I don't know here she got all that alcohol," Barbara says. "But I have to get her home. Her dad would freak if I let her stay here any longer. Sorry I have to cut our night short."

"Oh, it's no problem. You guys go. I'll find some way to get home," Artemis reassures her friend.

"Really?" The red head asks. "Thanks. Dick would totally freak if he saw we abandoned him."

"It's fine." She says. "Make sure she gets home safe."

"Oh, I will. Text you when we get to her dad's house," The redhead promises.

And with that she's gone.

Well, Artemis thinks. There goes my ride.

In the end, Dick wins for his track team and goes home in the team bus (a luxurious Charter, funded by the ridiculously wealthy Gotham Academy PTA), a hero in the eyes of his teammates, leaving a bunch of fuming athletes in tiny shorts. Artemis figures she'd better leave before the losing team figures out she's one of _them_and gives her a black eye.

She remembers her first day at Gotham Academy, when she'd found out about the extreme rivalry between the schools' track teams. She'd been sitting with the two girls who had been showing her around, Bette Kane and Barbara Gordon, when she said something about her best friends, Megan and Conner, going to Happy Harbor when Bette said, "I wouldn't go advertising that, if I were you."

Artemis asked why.

"There's this huge rivalry between the two track teams. Every year, when we go against each other at the championship, at least one person gets molested," Barbara said while chewing on a celery stick.

"She would know," Bette informed her. "Her boyfriend takes it upon himself to stop those incidents."

"Dick's not my boyfriend," She grumbled. Bette mouthed the word _yet_to Artemis.

The archer cleared her throat. "So why is the rivalry between track teams? Why not football or something?"

"Our football team sucks," Her liaison explained. "And soccer isn't too great, either. Also, you know Barry Allen?"

Artemis nodded. "'The Flash?' Yeah, I'm familiar."

"Well, his nephew is on the track team. Cameron Mahkent, who's on our team, is Joar Mahkent's son. So, because of that, we're enemies."

"That's pretty irrational," Artemis noted.

"Yeah," Bette said, sighing. "But that's high school."

Artemis hasn't been jumped yet, but she's not too eager to wait and see.

She is preparing herself for the long and bitterly cold walk home when a red Ford pick-up truck pulls alongside her. Expecting the worst, she readies herself to run when the window rolls down and it's Wally.

"Guess I saw you sooner than I thought," He says.

"Yeah," She replies, still looking forward.

"So, what are you going to do, walk home?" He asks.

"That was the plan," She tells him.

"Oh. _Well-_" He draws out the word, "I could drive you."

She looks at him incredulously. "Why should I let _you,_an almost complete stranger, drive me home to the bad part of Gotham in the middle of the night?"

He shrugs. "I don't care," He pops open the passenger sea door. "Come on. Hop in."

"This is beginning to closely resemble a horror movie," Artemis mumbles, but climbs in anyway. "Just drive. I'll give you directions when we get closer."

The drive there is long, quiet, and uncomfortable. They finally see indication that are entering the City (a large green sign that says "Welcome to sunny Gotham!" that never ceases to make Artemis scoff) when the clock on Wally's dashboard changes to twelve thirty am, just as the criminals are crawling out of their holes. It doesn't worry Artemis too much, though, because she's been through enough Gotham midnights. Besides, they know her as "Lawrence's kid" and are more likely to offer her drugs than to jump her.

She gives Wally careful instructions to her street and says when they reach a bus stop a few blocks away from her house," You can stop here."

"Are you sure?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like the safest part of town."

"I'll be alright," She reassures him. After hesitating a moment, she says, "Give me your hand."

"What? Why?"

"My number," She explains. "You can text me and we'll meet up sometime." She bids him farewell and watches as he waves and turns his truck around. As soon as the back of the Ford pick-up disappears into the thick night air, she walks to her house, grinning as she does so.

**And that's a wrap of Chapter One!**

**I hope you enjoyed this; I know I really loved writing it.**

**I'm welcome to any constructive criticism you have to offer.**

**I'll probably update in two to three weeks; I'm going on vacation soon and won't have access to a computer. After that, though, I'll update more regularly.**

**2,064, baby! That's the biggest chapter I've ever written!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Caroline**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, the Hunger Games, or any other copyright mentioned in this story. They belong to the appropriate parties. **

Wally almost texts Artemis seven times over the next three days. And on all of the occasions, he chickens out just as he's about to hit send. Finally, when he's playing Halo 4 with Roy, his friend says, "What's up? You're looking at your phone more than usual."

Wally confesses that he's been working up the courage to text a girl since Friday.

"Well, give me the phone. I'll text her if you won't," The older guy offers.

He protests, but gives in knowing that it won't get done unless he does this, now. "Fine," He says. "But don't make me sound cocky or flirty or anything like that."

"You _are _cocky and flirty," Roy insists. "But fine, since it's your phone." He reaches out a hand to collect it, and Wally reluctantly hands over his iPhone 5, paid for with prize money (which he won at a science fair, not a track meet like some would think).

"Okay," Roy says. "How does this sound? 'It's Wally. Dinner and a Movie tomorrow at seven?'"

Before he can hesitate, he says, "Just send it."

"Okay, done." He checks his own phone, which has just vibrated. "That's Ollie, probably wanting me home. See you, Wally." His friend exits the household (but not before saying goodbye to Mrs. West; Roy is just that much of a Boy Scout) just as the screen on Wally's phone lights up with the name _Artemis._ He gulps and just opens the thing. He's satisfied to see that _yes, _she'll come to dinner with him tomorrow and what movie?

He hastily texts back, _The Hunger Games came out last week. How about it?_

He sighs in relief when she replies with a simple _Call and we can discuss the details._ He hits _send_ and soon finds himself hearing the rough but sweet voice of the girl who swept him off of his feet at the track meet.

"Hey," She says, smacking what Wally can only assume is gum.

"Hi," He lamely replies, rubbing his neck as if he was talking to her face, not over the phone.

"So," Artemis ventures. "What's for dinner tomorrow?"

"I was thinking Olive Garden? Or Fisherman's Inn? It's pretty far away, but I'm totally willing to drive you. But we can go to whatever," Oh gosh. Is he rambling? What if she totally thinks he's weird and to overbearing because he's okay with going two states over for dinner?

"Relax, West," She laughs. Had he said all that aloud? "And yes, you did say it aloud. Olive Garden's fine, and so is the Hunger Games. My friend Zatanna saw it on opening night and loved it. So should I meet you at the restaurant or are you going to pick me up?"

"I'll pick you up," He promises, hoping he won't get lost in the busy backstreets of Gotham but not wanting to look indignant on their first date. "I remember the way."

"Impressive. Have you been to Gotham before?" She asks.

"Yeah. Remember how I told you Dick and I were friends? I went over to his house all the time in Junior High," Wally explains. "Plus, I have a pretty good memory."

"Oh yeah?" Artemis says wryly. "So the track buff is a science geek."

"How did you know it was science?" Wally inquires.

"I didn't, really, other that the fact that you just about scream 'science guy.'" Wally can't see it, but she shrugs. "You're in luck, then, because you just found your new student, because I'm practically failing science. Up for the challenge?"

The next day drags on slowly for the both of them because of excitement for their date. When Wally gets home, he immediately calls his friend Megan and asks what he should wear because he is totally and absolutely lost. She's really sweet and immediately decides to come over and help him. "It's fine," She reassures him. "I'm just so excited for you!"

In the end, they agree to a regular yellow t-shirt and an orange North Face jacket that is something he would totally wear. He's impressed. "Thanks, Megan," He says. "You're a life saver."

She giggles. "No problem, Wally!" Megan is a smiley, sit-com type girl who is just about as American as one can get. Wally's lucky to have her, because she's such a girl that she can help him with his lady problems (which happen more than he'd care to admit). "So, when am I going to meet this 'mystery girl,' of whom you haven't even told me the name of."

He hasn't? "Oh, sorry. Her name's Artemis. Her last name, I think, is Crock?"

"Oh!" Megan squeals. "I know Artemis! She's like my best friend!"

"Really?" He asks, honestly confused as to why Artemis is getting all buddy-buddy with her practical enemy.

Then again, he tells himself. She _is _going on a date with _you. _

He looks at his watch. "Megs, thanks a lot for the fashion advice and all that, but it's 5:30 and I have got to skedaddle."

"Oh, sorry!" Megan says, speaking with her Omni-present exclamation point. "I won't hold you any longer. Besides, Conner and I have a _date _tonight." She wiggles her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, causing Wally to laugh. "Bye, Wally!"

She slams the door behind her.

"All right," he says. "It's game time."

Thankfully for Artemis, who is normally handicapped in all areas concerning fashion, Barbara volunteers to help her pick out what to wear for her "special evening out."

"It's not that special," She grumbles. "I don't even really know the guy that well. Besides, we're just going to the Olive Garden."

"Who knows," Barbara says, raising an eyebrow. "I could be true love." She impersonates the Bishop on the _Princess Bride,_ faking a terrible lisp.

Artemis gives her friend a playful push. "You," She says decidedly. "are a _helpless _romantic."

Barbara rolls her eyes. "At least I have hope. I'm not giving up on love, unlike someone I know, Ms. I'm-so-bitter-no-one-will-ever-love-me-again."

"After Cameron, I was just not in the mood to get heartbroken again." She shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm sorry, if I don't feel like wallowing in my pajamas for a week," After a moment, she sheepishly adds, "Again."

"You won't," Babs promises her, wanting to dissolve the awkward tension between the two. "You've learned your lesson. Besides, Cameron's a huge jerk. Hopefully, this one won't dump you just because you say no to sex."

"Hopefully," Artemis murmurs. The conversation stays playful and light for the rest of their time together. Barbara is just finishing up the blonde's hair when the doorbell rings.

"Well," The redhead smiles. "There you go. Knock 'em dead, girl. You look great." And it's true, she does. Artemis has a lace dress on completed with a light blue polyester jacket. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail (as per usual), but Barbara somehow convinced her to French braid the top of her head.

"Duty calls," Artemis says, almost to herself as she walks to the truck where Wally sits.

They share a smile, not knowing what they're about to get themselves into.

**Okay, that was a bit on the short side. Terribly sorry about that. Although, I was overwhelmed with schoolwork and unpacking from vacation and make-up work and band concerts and I won't bore you with the rest. I originally had something else planned for this chapter, but time (you know, that thing that always runs out) and perfectionism got in the way, but I promise the quality is a _lot _higher than it would have been if I had been going for word count. Besides, I just want you guys to have another chapter!**

**Thanks to andy-ninja girl, summer1234, Maddylovessmiles, Guest, Brittday20, Keepmovingforwar, Irenerb, and randommonkeyz998 for reviewing! **

**Contest- This is something new I'm going to do. I encourage everyone to join in! **

**Contest #1- New Title. **

**_Irrationality_ is fine, I guess. However, if you can come up with a better one and I choose it, you'll have a chance to collaborate with me or have a part in this story. Even Guests can enter, although in that case you can only have an insert. **

**Contest #2- Chapter Idea**

**I have basically the whole story planned out, but if you come up with a new and awesome idea, I'll use it. The winner reaps the same prizes as before. **

**Also, follow me on Tumblr- I'm ccnewberg. **

**Love you guys!  
The Goddess of Percabeth**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Young Justice, the Hunger Games, or any other mentioned copyright. **

They attend a movie theater a few towns over. It tales about forty minutes to get there, but it's totally worth it to see The Hunger Games in surround sound.

And Wally has to admit (not that he'd ever tell Megan) the film exceeded his expectations. Rue's death? A tearjerker. The final battle scene? Pleasantly gruesome. His cell phone ringing during the Feast? A minor distraction. Artemis wasn't angry at all when his Sonic the Hedgehog ringtone sounded during Clove's final moment.

But by the time the movie is over, he's ready to eat.

Artemis feels the same way. "I'm _starving._ How far away is this restaurant?"

He shrugs. "I don't know," he answers, chomping on the emergency saltines he keeps on his dashboard. "But we'll be there soon, babe."

"You know, Olive Garden has the never-ending pasta bowl," She reminds him with a sly grin on her face. She swipes a cracker from his hand. "Kind of reminds me of your stomach."

"Hey!" He exclaims, feigning offence.

"Let's go, Kid Mouth." She playfully punches his shoulder (although it still hurts). "The sooner we arrive, the better."

When they arrive, it's gaining on nine 'o'clock and the restaurant is practically empty. The hostess gives them a secluded corner booth in the back of the establishment.

"If you need anything, I'm your guy," Their waiter, a guy in his twenties who's name tag reads "Stan" promises, winking at Artemis.

She raises an eyebrow. "Thanks, I think." After he leaves, she wrinkles her nose to Wally. "That was weird."

"You know babe, I'm not surprised," Wally says, his mouth full of the complimentary breadsticks they received as an hors d'oeuvre. "You're hot."

"Thanks," She replies dryly. "I feel so special."

He grins. His teeth are full of bread.

A few minutes later, Stan returns to take their order. Artemis gets a regular plate of ziti and Wally decides on the Tour of Italy.

"Wally, this costs twenty-six dollars," She points out, squinting at the menu. "Are you sure you're going to eat all of this?"

"I'm sure." To the waiter, he adds: "Make it two orders."

Stan retreats to the kitchen.

"When they say the teenager's stomach is a never-ending pit, they aren't kidding," She jokes. "What kind of job must you have to be able to pay for all that?" She muses.

"Easy: my uncle's credit card," he explains, pulling said object out of his jacket.

"The rich uncle," She mutters, sipping her iced tea. The drink gurgles and she moves the straw back and forth. "I should have known."

"Hey, Barry's not rich. More like, well off," Wally defends (although Artemis isn't really sure why he's so offended by this). He shrugs. "Besides, we all have a wealthy uncle. It's like the emo cousin: if you don't have one, you _are_ one."

"I don't have any uncles." After a beat, she admits, "Or cousins. And while we're on the subject, what's the deal with what's-his-name?"

"Bart?"

"That would be the one."

Wally shrugs. "I don't know. That's private."

She scoffs and is about to reply that _well_, so is the financial state of her extended family however nonexistent he or she might me when their soup arrives and the only sounds between her and her date are spoons clinking porcelain bowls and Wally slurping.

"Oh my God," Artemis groans as she finally leaves the restaurant at about ten. "I didn't know I could _eat_ that much. I didn't know _you_ could eat that much."

"It's not my fault. I have-" he stretches forward and cracks his knuckles, "a _very large_ metabolism."

She raises an eyebrow. "You don't say."

"What was that, babe?"

"Uh, nothing," She says quickly. "So are we going back now? Are we going home? Please tell me we're going home."

"You're in luck, babe," Promises Wally. He pulls out his Flash key chain (Really?) from his pocket and unlocks his truck. "It just so happens that that is where we're headed. We just gotta get on the interstate and then it's smooth sailing from there."

Artemis yawns. "It better be. I have work early in the morning and if I fall asleep on the job one more time I'm going to get my ass fired."

They make it a good ten miles before his car comes to a complete stop.

"'Smooth sailing,'" She quotes. "And how accurate you were, Wall-man."

He frowns deeply and opens his door, storming out. He kicks the tire. "This truck," He pronounces. "is a piece of _shit_."

"Hey, you said it, not me." She watches as he opens the hood and a puff of smoke drifts out, leaving him coughing. "So, what are you going to do, science genius?"

He pulls out his phone. "I think I can get Alfred to pick us up."

"Alfred?" She furrows her brow. "Isn't that Dick's butler?"

"The one and only." He waits patiently for someone to pick up the phone. Finally, someone does. "Hey, dude," he greets the person on the other end. "Yeah, well, now's not the time to hash out old childhood wounds. We need Alfred to come pick us up. No, not Linda. A girl. Can he do it? We're right outside of the intersection of I-95 and eastbound. Yeah, whatever. Bye." He hangs up, putting his phone in his pocket. Wally takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. He turns his attention to her. "That was Dick. He and Alfred are on their way. They'll be here in twenty.

Artemis steps out of the vehicle. She leans against the truck, next to Wally and gazes up at the sky. "You don't get 'em like that in Gotham," she remarks.

He jumps out of his stupor and looks in surprise at her silhouette. "What, the stars?"

"Yeah. I never get to see them with the whole 'omnipresent ominous cloud' factor there." And it's true; she can count on both hands the amount of time she's been out of the city. "Can you see them in Central?"

He shrugs. "Meh. You can see the major constellations, like Orion or whatever, and this one time the International Space Station crossed the sky and the science club went _berserk_ and-"

"You're rambling," interjects Artemis.

He blushes. "Right. Sorry. My point is that they aren't really that visible in Central. But in Kansas- that's where I'm from- it was perfect every night."

"I could believe that." She lets out a low whistle. "You're from Kansas, huh? Sounds _really_ interesting."

"Hey, not all of Kansas is just flat planes and boredom," he points out. "Keystone wasn't that bad."

She opens a pack of gum and pops a piece in her mouth. She slowly blows a bubble. "I'm sure it wasn't."

She offers him some gum. He shakes his head.

"You don't sound convinced," he says after a few moment's pause.

"That's 'cause I'm not," She retorts, leaning in with a wide smile. He follows suit, closing his eyes.

Their lips barely touch before a gruff voice next to his ear says, "Get on the ground."

"The girl too," The voice continues. He (as it's definitely a man) instructs his partner, "Get their wallets."

The guy's buddy instructs them to hand over any dough they have on them.

"Hey," the first man, the one in the tacky yellow sneakers, barks out. "Check it out. I found the girl's purse. Where'd you put that flashlight?"

"Over there," the guy in muddy white Nikes responds. "Next that the boy's credit card. Aw, man, sneaking off without the boss was the best idea you ever had."

"Ain't surprising," Tacky sneakers brags. "He always takes too much out of the loot for him and that crippled bitch he married."

And then it clicks in Artemis' head as to who it is exactly that is ransacking them.

The thug realizes it too. "Shit," he swears under his breath, throwing her wallet down in front of her. It's open to the flap where her school ID lies. "So, sweetheart. Does your daddy know you're here?" He asks with mock sweetness.

She stands up and dusts herself off, grinning menacingly. Matching his tone, she retorts, "I don't know. Does my father know you're robbing his daughter and her date blind of all their money and aren't going to split it between the gang, like you all agreed?"

His eyes go wide.

"I though not-" She smirks and picks up the discarded item from the dirt. "_Joe._" She helps her date up. "Come on, Baywatch. I know these goons and they aren't going to do anything."

Dirty Nikes (or Steve, as she knows him) gives Wally his credit card back.

The two felons walk away, muttering about what a bad idea that had been and that they'd kill Artemis if she told the boss and how stupid it was that they couldn't even get away with a few dollars.

"Well," Wally remarks once they can no longer see the offenders. "That was slightly out of the ordinary. Care to explain?" There's a bit of annoyance in his voice, and it makes her cringe.

She's surprised to realize she's crying.

She apologizes and means it. "The thing is," She begins to explain. "In Gotham, you're rich, a cop, or a criminal, however borderline you are. And my dad, he's the head of a mafia of sorts."

"I see," He scratches his head. "And your dad- the dude who those guys were so afraid of- could potentially harm me to the point of no repair?"

She's not going to lie. "Probably." She shrugs. "But he won't. My dad is out of the picture completely, and has been since my mom got out of jail."

"Your mom, is she—"

"She's _not bad,_" Artemis insists, wiping the tears from her eyes. There's an urgency in her tone that scares Wally. "She's a regular person who was, granted, at one point, a petty thief. But that's over, got it?"

"Oh." He gulps. "Okay." He gently pats her hand and is glad when she doesn't jerk back. "It's been a long and _weird_ night. Not that it was bad or anything—"

"I don't know," she interjects. "Being targeted by two of Gotham's signature thugs is not by idea of a nice time."

"That's true," Wally begins slowly. "But we got out okay, right?"

She laughs and sniffs. "I guess you're right."

"Wow," He raises his eyebrows. "I never thought I'd hear that from you."

She playfully punches his shoulder. "Don't let it go to your head."

"I won't," he promises.

"Good," she replies. "So when is Dick-face getting here?"

When the limo finally arrives, Wally's former best friend is surprised to see Artemis there, to say the least.

"You could have at least _told_ me you were going out with one of my closest friends," Dick tells him. "And _you,_ Artemis, _lied_ to Barbara."

"You think that people at school will be thrilled that I'm going out with a guy from our rival school?" She retorts, climbing in the vehicle. "Just take us home, Dick. We're tired."

The thirteen year-old wrinkles his nose. "Tough night?"

"Don't ask," Wally instructs him. "Just don't do it."

"Well _okaaay_ then," He stretches out the syllable. "Next stop, Artemis' house."

Dick waits in the car while Wally walks Artemis up to her house to say goodnight (as by this time it's about eleven thirty and you never know who's out at this time. Not that he's saying Artemis couldn't protect herself if she needed to, but he'd never forgive himself if she got hurt). They walk side by side up her porch. The light flickers on and she tightly embraces him.

"It was fun," she says. "No matter how weird it was."

He squeezes her back. "You know that thing we were doing before those guys came and interrupted us?"

"Yeah."

"Well," he replies in a hushed tone. "What if we continues those… activities?"

She smiles widely at him. "Okay."

And then for the next few minutes, it's just her and Wally and no one else. She can feel his lips on hers and her own lip gloss that she had barely used before today and his hand in her hair and that's all there is and that's all that matters.

[Dick whistles from the limo. She flicks him off.]

A cricket chirps a few feet away.

She doesn't hear it.

Wally tastes like chocolate chip cookies.

The wind blows through her hair.

And then it's over; he's walking back to the vehicle, grinning like an idiot.

Artemis slowly walks back to her house. She doesn't fall asleep until 3 the next morning.

[The next Monday, when Babs asks her how her date went, she responds by shrugging nonchalantly and saying, "It was okay. I don't think I'll be going out with him again anytime soon.

Dick gives her a knowing grin.]

**A/N: Ah, Dick, you trolling bastard. This chapter is one of my longest yet as far as content. I hope you liked. Feedback, anyone? No? Okay. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. You're all amazing. And 21 follows? I am agog, I am aghast! And if anyone caught my reference there, then you are free to any cookies in the world. **

**BTW, have any of you heard of Lindsey Sterling? She is the most kick-ass violin player that has ever lived. I totally recommend her. She's really the best. **

**Anyways, until next time, bye! Remember to follow me on tumblr at benebitchcumberdick, okay? **


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